Vehicle heater



vPatented Sept. 29, i931 UNITE-D ,STATES PATENT 'or-'Fics TOENI R. OISHEI, 0F BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB TO TRIGO PRODUCTS CORPORA- TION, OFlBUFFALO, NEW YORK 'VEHICLE HEATER' Application led Hay 11, 1927. ASerial No. 190,519. i

This invention relates to a vehicle heater and is especially designed for the heating of windshields or the interior of motor vehicles of the internal combustion type.

The heating of the interior of the vehicle has usually been accomplished by the exhaust gases from the .internal combustion engine, which gases have heretofore been shunted or deflected `from the exhaust line through a ,1.0 heater arranged within the ioor or at any other desirable point of the car, the exhaust gases from thence being returned to the' exhaust line or 'permitted to escape to the atmosphere direct. Through faulty construction or improper installation of the heater, it sometimes happens that the exhaust gases will escape from the heater into the interior of the car and jeopardize the lives of the passen ers.

en the heater is arranged in proximity to the windshield for heating the same an overheating of the adjacent parts must bey arded against, and by Vreason of-the possibility of such overheating it is inadvisable 25.to conceal such a heater 4from view. Consequently, the installation of a heater upon a windshield is not desirable because of its failure to harmonize with the interior finish or trimmings of the vehicle. The present invention has for its objects to provide a motor vehicle heater in which the heat is derived from preheated atmospheric air so that if by chance the heater does leak the -escape of the heated tluidwill not be dangerous to the occupants of the vehicle; to provide a vehicle heater which may be readily connected to the intake manifold whereby the suction obtaining therein will. cause a current of air to pass from the heater into the manil' 40" fold, which air ispreheated before entering the vehicle heater; to provide a novel construction of a preheater which may be easily ,land readily installed on the exhaust line of the engine so thatthe air passing through the '45 preheater will have its temperature raised to ing drawings,

Figure 1 is an elevation of the interior of a motor vehicle showing the resent invention designed for the heating o the windshield.

Figure 2 is a detailed sectional view therethrough on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is-an end elevation of the air-preheater as applied to the exhaust line of the motor vehicle engine, the exhaust line being depicted in cross section.'

igure'4 is a detailed perspective of the airpreheater, indicating. in dotted lines the normally flat formation thereof.

Proceeding in accordance with the present invention the numeral 1 indicates the front wall structure or windshield frame of a motor vehicle body having formed therein a 75 groove 2 in which the upper edge of the glass 3 is vertically slidable to a limited extent for effecting ventilation beneath the lower edge of the glass.v In one wall of the groove 2, preferably the rear wall, is provided a pocket 80 4 extending the full breadth of the glass, and across the. open side of which the glass 3 slides. Within this pocket 4 is arranged the vehicle heater, which, in the present showing, is designed primarily for heating the wind- 35 shield glass, said heater in its simplest form comprising a tubular body 5 ofpa desired size and length to substantially fill the pocket 4 and have more or less peripheral contact with the glass 3. Thistubular body being of a 911l metal having a high degree of heat conductivity is connected at its outlet end 6 by a conduit 7,'in which is interposed a control valve 8, to the intake manifold 9 of the motor vehicle engine 10. The inlet end 11 of the heater body 5 is connected by a conduit 12to an air preheater 13.

'embody component sections of a casting, the

sections of which are suitably hinged together for engaging about the exhaust pipe, although in its preferred embodiment the air preheater is formed from a length of tube entupo'n itself at intervals so as to form a series of parallel and connected loops v14:, the legs or sides 15 of which lie in contacting relation substantially throughout theirI entire length. Such a construction provides an air passage through the entire preheater body having a zigzag or circuitous course, the inner side wall of which is in direct contact throughout with the exterior surface ofthe exhaust line 16 of the motor vehicle engine. The terminals of the pipe' or tubing from which the preheater body is formed are preferably extended beyond the body lines in opposite directions, thereby forming an atmospheric air-inlet nipple 17 and a heated airoutlet nipple 18 to which the conduit` 12 is connected. The bodyV thus formed is 0f a flexible nature so as to readily yield and conform to the peripheral contour of the exhaust line16. In forming the preheater body the loops are formed in a common plane so that the resultant structure will be a flat body such as is indicated by the dotted showing 19.

`When the preheater is to be attached to the exhaust line the flexible body is bent around the exhaust line with the leg portions 15' extending substantially parallel to the axis of the exhaust line, in which position the body is secured, as by means of a simple form of clamp 20. The adjacent portions of the several loops may be secured together adhesively, as by dipping the formed body in solder or other binder. v p

. By reason of the circuitous passage formed through the several connected loops, each portion of which passage is in direct contact with the exhaust line and therefore subjected to the intense heat radiating therefrom, the cool atmospheric air entering through the inlet nipple 17 will be heated to `a very high temperature before it leaves the outlet nipple -18 and passes on to the windshield heater 5, If desired the several loops may be flattened so as to decrease the radial distance of the wall portion of the Ycircuitous passage from the tween the intake manifold 9 and the heater 5, whereupon the suction obtaining within the intake manifold, while the engine is running, will induce a flow of air through the air-preheater 13, where it is highly heated,

and on through the windshield heater 5, from which the air is drawn intol the manifold. The heated air enteringv the intake manifold also naturally better prepares the combustible mixture for explosion within the vehicle engine.

The heater fluid which passes through the heater 5, being drawn directly from the atmosphere, provides a heating fluid which in case of leakage or faulty installation will not injure the healthlor jeopardize the lives of the passengers within the car. Since the flow of fluid heat is an induced flow the noises incident to the explosions within the engine are vavoided -being carried by the heated air to the vehicle heater 5, and having the latter arranged substantially in contact with the glass the heat will travel by induction down across the field of vision for the entire breadth of the windshield and thereby heat that portion ofthe glass at a temperature which will remedy and avoid the congealing of moisture-on its exterior surface.

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Since there is no danger` of any escapel of poisonous fumes or gases from the Vcurrent of fluid heat the heater may safely be concealed within the body structure of the Windshield frame as is clearly shown in Figure 2 wherein the heater is snugly disposed within the pocket 4.

By enlarging the heater 5 and exposing it more or less to the interior of the car the heater will also radiate its heat to the beneft and comfort of the passengers. Obviously another heater of proper design and proportion could be arranged in the licor of the car and connected by branch passages to the conduits 7 and 12.

1. In a warm-air vehicle heater, a flexible air-pre-heater body formed from a single length of pipe folded back and forth upon i itself in zigzag formation to provide a flexible body with a circuitous passage therethrough open at its opposite ends, said body being foldable about the exhaust line of the vehicle with the superimposed legsy of-the folds extending substantially parallel to the axis of the exhaust line. the opposite ends of the pipebeing extended from each other in opposite directions; and means for securing the exible body folded about the exhaust line.

2. In a warm-air vehicle heater a preheater body bent from a singlelength of pipe with each succeeding reach of the pipe lying contiguous to the preceding reach, the extremities of each bend lying in spaced lanes angular to the body of the heater, sal body being foldable about the exhaust line of the vehicle, the opposite ends of the pipe extending beyond the body of the heater in 19 opposite directions substantially parallel to the axis of the body and the exhaust line, and means for securin the body in its folded relation about the ex aust line.

JOHNv R. OISHEI. 

